The New York Times Company is in the process of building their new world headquarters designed by Renzo Piano in midtown Manhattan . Fox and Fowle are the project architects and Gensler is the interior architect. This building is taking a radical step in the concept of daylighting and sustainable design, using an 800-foot glass curtain wall to provide natural daylight to all occupants. To assure the effectiveness and comfort of such a design, the New York Times, NYSERDA and Lawrence Berkeley Labs commissioned an extensive mock-up in College Point , NY that Metropolis magazine calls “the most ambitious lighting experiment in American commercial real estate.” We are proud that the New York Times selected MechoShade and it's AAC SolarTrac™ system to participate in this far-reaching mock-up.

Our participation in this important sustainable design project is another reason why MechoShade Systems continues to be in the forefront of a renewal of the use of daylighting and automated shading and dimming systems. WindowManagement™ is a prerequisite to successful daylighting. Daylighting is not possible without some protection on the window wall.

This front-page cover story in the latest issue of Metropolis magazine on the New York Times study illustrates this. MechoShade is pleased to present for your convenience a copy of this Metropolis cover story entitled “A Day in the Light” which details the daylighting techniques being tested at the New York Times. This article describes the performance of our AAC system. For your convenience, we have highlighted important sections in the article about MechoShades. The fabric utilized in the photos is our 6020 White/Black. This is a two-sided, 3% open fabric designed to meet Renzo Piano's exterior requirements while reducing the glare inside.

For further information on this project and how MechoShade Systems allows for effective Daylighting in Sustainable buildings, please go to the Contact Us section of our website to locate your nearest sales representative.